David Cage: “Games still have to deal with some kind of sexism”

Beyond: Two Souls writer David Cage has stated that he didn’t consciously make the game’s star female, and that the games industry still needs to think hard about the issue of gender. He believes the tide is slowly changing, however.

Speaking with MCV, Cage said of his decision to cast Ellen Page as his lead in Beyond, “I don’t feel I consciously ‘opted’ for a female character, it is just the story I wanted to tell that drove the decision.

Cage continued, “What always surprises me is that this is not a question anyone would ask to a novelist or a film director. Their audiences would never question that a female character could make their story as interesting and powerful.

“Games still have to deal with some kind of sexism, especially as a lot of the time they’re focused on violence. Male characters tend to have more muscles and fighting capabilities. Female characters usually have an impressive breast and primitive psychology, they are the reward for the brave male hero.

“Gamers are also mainly male, and some of them may not find a female character appealing, unless she is as sexy as Lara Croft. This is changing: partially because gamers are demanding stronger characters and better scripts.”